Underlays

Carpet underlay (foam), can it be used as a weed mat for the garden??????

I'm not sure if the foam in its processing, would have chemicals added, therefore making it useless as a weed mat.

Public Comments

1. you have no idea what is in that pad, I would not use it.
2. I wouldn't. It's likely to break down very rapidly due to UV light, and you've got no idea of what's in it. Now if you happen to find some jute-back wool carpet, that's another matter entirely!
3. definitely not. Besides the probable toxic chemicals it would also prevent anything from growing because water won't be able to get through it. If you want to use something as a temporary weed killer by all means put carpet scraps down. But as a weed preventor in the garden you either have to go with a) landscape fabric b) some form of mulch like wood chips or cocoa shells or the like c) this layers of newspaper, Overlap the pages and don't use colored pages. Wet it very well and use at least 6 pages per layer. Then cover with some soil or mulch and for planting cut gently through to plant in the ground. This will kill any weeds and also break down and nourish the soil This is a great time to do it as well, as we are going into fall and then winter
4. well believe it or not a home i bought had underlayment from a carpet installed as a weed barrier and it worked great,had a lot of nice flowers and very few weeds..the underlayment was placed there about 12 yrs before i moved there from what a neighbor told me..and it also worked really nice to keep moisture in too.
5. JUST GO OUTSIDE AND PULL THE WEEDS. THIS IS THE EASIET THING TO DO. ALL THOUGH IF YOUR LAZY LIKE ME, GO BUY SOME 6 MILLIMETER PAINTERS PLASTIC (BLACK IN COLOR) FROM HOME DEPOT OR WALMART AND PUT THIS DOWN. ITS CHEAP AND WORKS FOR YEARS
6. That's a bad idea that crap would be terrible for your soil you would probably never grow anything again use something natural that will improve the soilover time as it breaks down some kind of fabric made from natural fibres like coconut matting or even just a good mulch this allows the soil to breath unlike news paper which can dry out and become quite hard and seal the suface of your garden. STAY NATURAL..